Selling your home yourself can be a satisfying and profitable experience. Nobody knows the quirks of your home or the great points of your house and the neighborhood as well as you do. Since you will be saving yourself a 6 percent (or more) commission on your selling price, you can price your house more aggressively. With an excellent marketing strategy you will find that selling your home is not that difficult. In fact, because you have all of your time available to devote to the task, you might do better than a broker would.
Do Your Homework
The one area that gives brokers a leg up over homeowners who are selling on their own, is the ability to list their home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS is a comprehensive list of all the properties for sale (as well as recently sold and expired listings) and their complete descriptions. Only members of the state Realtor association can list on the MLS. However, you can often find a broker that for a relatively low fee (between $400 and $600), will list your house for you and not provide any other services. This may seem expensive, but since you won't be paying a pricey commission, it is well worth the expense. In addition, your home will now be available to be seen by every real estate agent and broker in your area.
Websites like Trulia and Zillow also can provide you valuable information by giving you comparables in your neighborhood. It is important when pricing your home so that your price is similar to others in your area. If you can, get an appraisal. This will give you an idea of what the fair market value for your home is. Be honest with yourself. Even if you've put a lot of money in the house, if you need to sell it, you may have to come to terms with the fact that it won't sell for how much you've put into it or even what you paid for it.
Homeowners often believe their homes are worth more than they are. If you need to sell, you must do your homework and be realistic. Come up with a good asking price and be prepared to negotiate.
Curb Appeal
Before you can effectively market and sell your home, you will need to make it as appealing as possible, especially in a competitive market. Get rid of any clutter in the yard. This is not the time to keep the garden gnomes in the front. Make everything as clean-looking as possible. Trim hedges, plant a few flowers, keep the sidewalks free of debris (and leaves or snow if its the season). If you're hanging holiday lights, keep them simple. Inside, the house should be clean and decluttered as well. Box up your piles of books and papers or donate them. Rid your kitchen counters of anything you don't really need. Consider painting the house clean neutral colors like beige or white. Clean your carpets and polish your wood floors. Anything you can do to give your home an edge over other houses for sale in the area is important. Take a look at each room objectively. You need to depersonalize the rooms in order for your potential customers to see themselves in your home--not you. Deodorize, particularly if you have pets.
Market Your Home
You will need to devise a complete marketing campaign using resources both online and off. Get a couple of lawn signs. If your backyard backs to a road, put one in the backyard, too. Take excellent pictures and a lot of them. When you list your home online, most people want to know exactly what they are getting before they arrange a showing. People are busy. Make it as easy as possible for them to pick your house. Don't just place a classified in the local paper and expect throngs of people to come to your door. Hold open houses. Advertise them well. List your house on Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist and eBay. Most Internet shoppers will search for homes on these sites first.
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